Former OU, Oklahoma State coach Parrack dies at age 86

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Doyle Parrack, who played on a national championship basketball team and later coached at three NCAA Division I schools in Oklahoma, has died.

Parrack, 86, died late Friday in Perkins, said his son, Jim Parrack. Parrack had suffered from Parkinson's disease in recent years and developed pneumonia during the last two weeks, his son said.

Parrack started for Oklahoma A&M -- now Oklahoma State -- when the Cowboys won the 1945 national championship under Hall of Fame coach Henry Iba.

Parrack went on to coach at Oklahoma City University, where his players included future coaches Abe Lemons and Paul Hansen. He later became coach at Oklahoma before returning to his alma mater as Iba's assistant.

He coached the Israeli national team for a time, and retired in 1980 after a two-year stint as Oklahoma's women's coach.

After leaving Oklahoma State as a player, Parrack played one season for the NBA's Chicago Stags -- the predecessor of the Bulls -- before becoming the head coach at Oklahoma City in 1947 while still in his 20s. He went 137-71 in eight seasons there and went four straight NCAA tournaments from 1952 to 1955.

Parrack became Oklahoma's coach in 1955 and went 71-97 in seven seasons and was Big Eight coach of the year in 1959.

In 1978, Parrack became the third coach of OU's fledgling women's program. He went 30-32 in two seasons and remains the only person to have coached both the Sooners' men's and women's teams.

Parrack is a member of athletic halls of fame at Oklahoma State and Oklahoma City, and the latter named its business school's clock tower in his honor.